Picture projecting device



2,135,952 .4 A *IF .Y v

PICTURE rRoJeorrNo Device ClareneeL. Stephens, New York, N. Y. i i Applicants March so, 1933, sensi Nu. 198.9519 l s claims (o1. sis- 21) The present invention relates to a. portable. manually operated picture projecting device, and; more particularly, to a readily portable, pistolshaped device capable of being operated 'oy one hand and provdedzwith a; trigger to spin s.

rotatable film carriage for projecting picturesl from a nim carried by the carriage onto a suit l able screen.- Y Y It is en object of my invention to provide a picture projecting. device that is relatively light- .in weight, suitably shaped to be heldin one hand .usethe device as a toywith pleasure and criter of nn operator during use and whichv has a single operating member conveniently located for operation by a finger. o the hand holding the device. It is another object of the present invention to provide a picture projecting device having a rotetable nlm carriage adapted toV receive o. film bearing a plurality of pictures, characters. or the like, and to present the sarne in proper position for projection, .either successively or by chance.

A. further object of the present invention'is te* provide a simple but sturdy and self-contained picture projecting device vrhicl'iv may be easily held in one hand of an operator when in use and which is provided with a rotatable film carriage, an

electric light' bulb and an operating member conf' venlently located for operation by aiinger oi the operators hand in which the device is held which serves, when actuated, to spin the'lm carriage and energize thelightbulb whereby. a diierent picture may be projected each time the operating. member is actuated.

Other objects and advantages of' the presentl the esita oi clarity.

Generally speaking, the present invention pro vides a picture projecting device which can easily be held in en operator's hand during use without produclngietigue end which can be operated by e. trigger mechanism to move a rotatable picture carriage successively from picture to picture orto spin the rotatable carriage to any picture by chance. In a preferred embodiment, the novel device is self-contained so thatjt l without external connections. but the invention is not restricted. to this feature. An operating f lever-is preferably provided in a convenientposl- Y g f, Y tion for operation by a `linger ofthe operatcrs hand in which the device is held, 'and in one 1 operative movement,.the lever produces a cycle .Y oi' operations including energizing, a light source,` projecting a picture, extinguishing the iight, and framing edifi'erent picture for proiection. The 10 operation ls so simple-that even a small child can tainrnent, but, on the other hand, the device is if" capable oi' projecting pictures o f such clarity and distinctness that it can be Widely used for i5 ,I education. instruction and demonstrations in.

schools, stores, business establishments. etc.- Due to the relatively small size and toA the simplicity in construction, Ymy new picture projecting del vices embodying the principles.ot-Athepresent invention can be' manuiactured'at veryfreesonable f B'rcadly stated, mypresent invention comprises l a. casing or holder.. a light source, a. nlm bea-ring s. plurality of pictures or characters to be prob j jected, a rotatable carriage forv supporting the nini `and'ior framing a portion-thereof in position for projection through a suitable aperture in the i in casing. and an operating; lever for rotating thecarriage and energizing the light source so thatf s.. different picture is projected Veach time the l lever is operated. The holder or casing muy be conveniently shaped to be held in an operators.

hund during use, i'or example. it may take the form o! a. pistol, a. rifle, etc., but it may have l any other suitable shape. The light source is preferably an electric light bulb and it has' been found. satisfactory in practice to include dry cell batteries within the caslngto energize the filament .when the picture hes been framed for 40 projection. The carriage may be jour-nailed on the casing so as to'present different portions of the peripheral area. of a. disc-shaped iilm in position for projection as it is rotated. Means are provided for moving the carriage either step-by- .step or spinning it rapidly about its axis and. al lowing it to come to rest through frictional losses. Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that a pistol-type, projecting device is illustrated in which e. toro-part casing ls provided comprising paired sections A and B hinged together at it to Aorii, when closed. a hollow pistol-shaped holder. A latch il normally retains the sections A end B in closed position. Each section thomson. r wwf" new .i3 and a 'trigger guard f3. 'Ihr-.sections A-snd B may advantageously be ldie cast of suitable metal or alloy ont they may also tie stumped fron-r` sheet rnetsi o r molded from thermoplastic Ina-' terials such as artificial resins, etc., us those skillc'din the nrt will readily understands- `'flubfsrrcl portion. i2 hes an opening i5 atthe front end. Preferably an objective lens l is.

adjustably positioned in the opening i5.. The

objective lens i8 may comprise a tube il aud'.

lenses i8 positioned adjacent its ends in s menn'er well understood by those skilled in the art. By making the opening i5 correspond in size and shape to the tube i'i. the objective lens t6 may 1 5 be frictionally held in adiusted position to focus the image of the projected picture on any desired surface. Lugs 'I9 on one of the sections A or B- hol-i` the objective lens i5 in position when the 'casing is opened. 0 Within the barrel portion. i2 in optical alignment with the objective lens i8 is a projection aperture '-29 of any desired shape that may be formed, for example; in a partition 2i securedor integral with the barrel portion i2. Further within the barrel portion i2 and likewise in opti`V cai alignment with the objective .lens i6 and the projection aperture 201s an electric light bulb 22- removably mounted inn socket 23 secured to the --barrel portion i2. Satisfactory results in practice have been obtained by using abulb .having the glass envelope thickened at the end to condense the light rays emitted from the filament, but itwill be understoodby those skilled in the art that condensers and/or redectors may be used to concentrate the iight, in e. beam directed to an operator presses the trigger 3B, the bell crank vWord the projection aperture 20.

` A film carriage 24 is rotatably mounted on. they p holder or casing.. The ill'm carriage itself supportsa. film 25 and is so mounted as .to position.

' lo poi-tremor the nim 2s in me been or nent. pans ing` from the bulb 22 through the projection Vsperture 20. -The film 25 inay be constructed of any suitable materials', and I do not desire to be" limited to any psrtifmrier'type. e'fssary that some material be used on which a picture or character can he formed. brought or produced and which will transmit or` reflect rays 'oi' light whereby the picture or character. thereon can be projected. The film 25 is preferably large enough to bear quite a number oi pictures. char-` v ecters, or' the like, for projection, and it' has been found satisfactory to make the film in the tor-m of a disc' with the pictures or characters on a i strip adjacent the periphery thereof. The carringe 24, in such case, may'comprise two discs 2E and 2l adapted to hold the. film. disc 25 between them with the picture strip exposed beyond their peripheries as may b'e-seen in Figs. l and 3. desired. of course, the carriage discs 25 and 27,'

y or one oi them. could have substantially the same diameter as the lm disc 2S and be provided with peripheral openings in which to frame the pictures or characters on the film for projection. or the carriage disc could be `provided with means o5 to receive and hold individual lrns framed in such. openings.- When the carriage disc is pro vided with openings to frame the pictures, the partition 2l may be dispensed with. Similarly, the film itself may be darkened around the pic'- 7@ ture to .provide a frame for the same, in which cese partition 2i may be omitted. In either case the open end oi' the barrel would form-the projection aperture.

In general the hlm disc 2 will have a larger diameter than the barrel portion 'i2 and the It- `Le only necieciion aperture.' The barrel portions i2 oi both.'

sections A and B may be provided v vith narrow.

slits 28 to receive the peripheral portions oi the fiilm'disc 25 and the carriage discs 26 and 2l.

Referring to Fig. 2,' it'will be seen the trigger 'f guard id on section B has been provided with a thicker projection 42! having a'short shaft 30- extending forwardly therefrom upon which the carriage discs 255mm 2 1 are rotatably secured' by a. nut or collar 3i. ing the discshas proved satisfactory, it is evi` dent that a bracket could be providedat. anyv same purpose as the projection 2-,

through a slot 35 provided in the 'meeting-edges of the sections A and B to serve as a trigger -36 within the trigger guard ia.- 'rhe ben. crank' ispivoted at 3l' to the barrel portion i2 and is.-

urgedto a. starting position by a spring 31' which is attached at one end to. the barrel portion I1 and at the' other end .to a-projectlon 38 on the bell crank 34. A second spring 38 is tensloned f between the projection 38 and the pawl. 33 to hold the latter against the ratchet wheel. It will beclear from the foregoing description that when.

34 lsill be rotated causing the pawl 33 to engage one oi the teeth of the ratchet. wheel 32 and thereby rotate the carriage 24 and the lm 25. The operator may advance the carriage 24 step by step to project successive pictures. on the ilhn i 25 or. by giving the trigger a quick pulL-he spin the carriage a number o! revolutions. It is thus possible to usati-ie projecting device o f the present invention not only'to project'entertia'dm` ing and instructive pictures but also in connection with games' such as Lotto". Bingo, etc., to determine o. number or other character by chance. The -lmdisc 21'. insuch case. would carry the numbers or other characters used in the game and the operator would project those. which happened to stop before 'the aperture 20 upon a. wall, ceiling or .other surface for the participants to see.

- It muy be desirable, particularly when pro3ecting successive plctur, n 'srovide means for stopping the carriage 2t in proper position to frame c. picture on the nim 25 :r: the projecting aperture 20. `A simple and effective means for accomplishing this result comprises a leaf spring il secured to the barrel portion i2 and having a ball ffii at the free end adapted to engage in regularly spaced cavities 52 on one face o! the disc 27. The cavities 52 correspond in number to the pictures on the film 25 and are so arranged that when the ball 6i rests in a cavity 42 the picture will be properly framed for projection.

' The illm 25 may be placed in position in the carringe 24 either by removing disc 25, slipping the V,film over shaft 30 and replacing disc 2S, or. the

v convenient location along the barrel to serve the .1

LWN

While this manner or mount- 'K ls adequate to hold the latter in position in the lcarriage.`

A source of current [or the iight bulb may comprise dry cell batteries d'3 and 84 positioned Y v iu the handle portion i3. As muy be `seen in Fig.

2. thelioiteries 53 and il are connected in series by a resilient connector d5 mounted on a smd $6 When the sections A and B are muda: oi material that conducts electricity, insuloting materiel 47' such as rubbcn paper, or Athe like. 'is interposed between the connector i5 and s, the holder. The other end o! battery 3 3 is elecvl5 trically .connected with the cent-er terminal i3 ofthe nbulb` 'iil cy means of e. conductor t9 mounted in 'out insulated from the barrel portion i2. The ends of the conductor $9 may be in the forni of spring fingers 58 and 5i to assure good A electrical Contact with the battery t3 and the terminal #8 respectively. The circuit from bat- I tery a: to :he meer terminal sz of me bum zz may be inodev through the casing when it is const itutedfot conducting; material such as metal, This circuit is normally open. however, cndis closed. when the operator pulls trigger 3E. A

satisfactory switch comprises a contact member 53 having spring endsfand 55, The contact member 53l is mounted in but insulated from the barrel portion. i2 in sucha manner that the end 54* is adapted to press against the battery'termlnai whereas the'end 55 is in the path oi'. some mina! 48, conductor 48, batteryv 43 and connector E to the battery- 4i The batteries me? be heid in position by stops' or lugs 5l'.` It will be apparent to those skilled' in the art that the circuit 5 may be modified in speclic detalls and that the essential vfeature is a normally. open circuit adapted to be closed upon operation oi the trigger 3S. If desired, the batteries 3 and 44 can be dispensed with andan external source of electric current be suitably connected with the conductor t3 andthe contact member 53.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that modifications and variations muy be resorted to os those skilled in the art will readily understand.. SuchV modications and variations are to be considered within the scope of the invention as described by the speclication and defined by the appended Gf) claims. V

I claim: A 1. A picture projecting device comprising e. gun-shaped holder having a projection aperture, a film bearing a plurality of pictures. e. carriage rotatably mounted on the holder itseliP supporting the hlm with a. portion thereof positioned for projection through .seid aperture. a movable member having operating trigger means. carriage engaging .means borne by said member cooperating with said trigger means to rotate said cerriage and position a different picture for projection through said aperture each time the trigger.

means is operated, on electric light bulb sup ported-by the holder for illuminating the posi- ;5. tioned picture, a source oi' current for said light projecting up irom'the handle portion t3 sind vpressing against the respective ends o! the beit-` `l0 tenes-i3 cndftii.

- strip-.adjacent its periphery, a. carriage itself sur porting seid film disc rotatably mounted on said V holder adapted to position successive pictures on 46 bulb, a nomuilly open circuit connecting Saidsourcc oicurrent with scialle/ht bulb, switching means adapted to clcse'the circuit when the mow able member is actuated. and a projection lens in optical alignment with said picture aperture' 5v if,"

and supported by said 'holder where-by the image of e. picture is projected when said triggermeans 'l is operated. Y

2. Al picture projecting device in accordance y with claim i' wherein the holder is provided with 10 means for stopping the mo.ement oi' the 'rotatable carriage when a' picture is positioned ,for 'i projection through seid ape ture;

3. A picture. projecting device comprising a an electric light bulb mounted in said casing. a filrn carriage rotatably mounted on said casing, said carriage being edapted'itseli to support casing and a pawi moons plvoted thereon co V acting with said toothed wheel for rotating said A2li carriage, e source of current for said bulb, au@ normally open circuit connecting said source of' f current with said bulb, and circuit closing means adapted to close the circuit when the trigger isvgun-shaped casing having a projection aperture, l5

operated. whereby operation oi' the trigger spins ,3Q

the im carriage to position another portionof Y' the film for projection and also energizes the 'i bulb to project the image of the picture posi- 2;

tioned in the aperture onto e suitable surface.

4. A portable device for projecting pictures 35` comprising a metallic holder capable of being held in a hand o! the user, said holder having n, f1 Projection apertureLcn electric iight bulb mounts.

ed within said holder with. one-end of the iilu-` least one dry cell within said holder, a lm disc said strip-for projection through said aperture. an electrical connector between the other end of said iliamcnt and a. terminal o! said dry cell and insulated from said holder, switching means for electrically connecting the other terminal oi saidm l dry cell with said holder to complete the circuitv through the filament of said light bulb to illurni-v nate the latter, and means operable by c finger ofthe users hand for operating seid switching means and roteting 'said carriage and film from 55 one picture to another whereby the picture on the film positioned in said aperture is projected from said device and a. different picture is positioned for projection with each operation of said nger' operated means. 60 5. A projecting device comprising n. gun shaped f casing 'having a barrel' portion, e. light bulb mounted within the barrel, e. source or electric current for sold light bulb, a. normally open circuit connecting the source o! current with the 65 light bulb, a. rotatable iilmcarriege mounted on the casing adapted itself to support a film been ing a plurality of pictures and to position o. por-l tion of seid film within the borrel intersecting the light path through the barrel in position for "O projection through an aperture in the end oi the barrel. e. trigger mounted on said casing. inter mittent carriage rotating means and circuit clos ing means operable by said trigger. whereby operation or `'sain trigger :plus said carriage to rsf ment electrically connected to said holder, at`40 position a difiere-nt portion of the film for projeciion in the aperture and iiluminates the light bulb to project the image ci a picture on said 5 vi5. A picture ifarojectingv device comprising a holder adapted to be heid in a handof auser,

said holder having a projection aperture, a light bulb mounted in said holder in optical alignment with said aperture, n source oi' current connected 19 with said Alight bulb thrown a normally open cir.- l

moving said picture'supporting means. and an operating member movably mounted on said 1 holder in convenient position for operation by a 20 digit of the hand holding the device. said opent-f 'ing member having mechanical connection with-` ;"said circuit closing means andsaid means for v moving 'the picture supporting means whereby actuation oi seiicioperating meanscioses the-cir- 2:; cuit and moves said picture supporting means to position a different picture for projection eac time the operating means is actuated. '1. A picture projecting device comprising a gun-shaped holder having a projection aperture, 30 a film bearing a plurality of pictures, a carriage irceiyrotatably mounted on the holder itself supporting theim'wiih a portion thereof posiioned for projection through said aperture, a movable member mounted on saidhoider having 3:; operating trigger means, carriage rotating means operatively'connccted with said .movable mem ber and cooperating with said trigger means to impart free rotation to said carriage and position different portion o! saisi er projection" m through said aperture each time said trigger means is actuated, an eiectriclight bulb supported by the holder in position for illuminating Alamosa V that portion o! thefiim postionedfior projection through said aperture, a normally open circuit adapted to connect said iight buio with e. source of electric current, swtching'rneans orclosingv said circuit and illuminating said iight bulb to 5' project the picture on the portion oi the im positioned for projection through said amertume when said manuali operable means is actuated; and an objective lens in optcai alignment with said picture aperture and supported by 'said 10 holderwhereby the :age ci a picture on the portion' of the film positioned Iorproiection through said aperture is nrojjectedfrom the gie-L vice and. a different pictureis positioned for projection with each operation of said, trigger 15 means.

8. A picture projecting `device comprising a. 'casing having a projection aperture, an electric llght'bulb mounted in said casing, a lm carrlage freely rotatably mounted on said casing, 2'() said carriage being 4.acier-tori itself to support a i iiirn bearing a plurality of pictures-with a portion o1 the film positioned for projection through y A the projection aperture, a toothed wheel drivingly connected with said. carriage. manually operable 25 means' including a bell crank pivoted to the cas-- ing having means connected therewith coasting 'with said toothed wheel to impart free rotation tol said carriage,- a sourcer o current for said bulb, a normally open circuit connecting said 30,4

source of current with said bulb, and circuit closing means adapted to close said circuit and illuminate the iight bulb 'to project the picture' on the portion ofthe film positioned for projection through the projection aperture-when. said manulyoperabie meansris'actuateci whereby each operation of the manually operable means spins me filmcarriage to position another portion of the. film forproiection rndmiect-s the image of the picture on the portion of the Bim o "so positioned onto a suitable surface'.

CLARENCE L. STEPHENS.' 

